Tikli & Laxmi Bomb trailer: Putul and Laxmi take on patriarchy with a punch

The trailer for Aditya Kripalani’s directional debut Tikli & Laxmi Bomb opens with a cheerful Putul (Chitrangada Chakraborty) aka Tikli and a wary Laxmi (Vibhawari Deshpande) shooting a video on a mobile phone. Putul declares that they have begun a revolution against men on the streets of Mumbai. The two women are prostitutes who are trying to break free from their pimp and the 'hafta' system.

As the trailer progresses, we learn that Laxmi has been in this work for a while now, while Putul is the newcomer. The two women become friends as Laxmi shows her around, but soon the rebellious Putul begins questioning the ways of their world where the men hold the money and power.

She leads Laxmi and the rest of the women working under their pimp into a revolt. Whether they succeed in claiming back their power will be revealed only in the film.

Shot guerilla-style with hand-held cameras, the low-budget film seems promising. The unlikely friendship between the characters of Putul and Laxmi feels real and inspires hope.

Tikli & Laxmi Bomb has been on a festival run and has screened at international festivals, from the Berlin Independent Film Festival to the UK Asian Film Festival. The film boasts of a crew comprising mostly of female members and is now streaming on Netflix.